Pecan Bars

I have been making these for years but this year I made them for The Great Food Bloggers Cookie Swap. I love them because they are very easy to make and simply Divine. I wanted to make something that could handle shipping and still taste great as the day I made them. By participating in this swap I received the names of 3 bloggers that I had never heard of to send a dozen cookies to each of them. And I also received a dozen cookies from 3 bloggers. It was so much fun to get such yummy cookies in the mail. My family enjoyed opening the boxes to see what lovely cookie we would receive. Each of the ladies took great care in making them and shipping them to me.

I hope the ladies I sent them to were as happy with them as me and my family were. My son Coolidge was sorry to see them go. I promised some yummy cookies were coming in the mail. I had a lot of fun swapping cookies with complete strangers.

I got this recipe from one of my favorite food magazines "Everyday Food." Try it and let me know what you think. I feel they freeze well too so you can pull them out and serve them to your guests later.

Ingredients
For the Crust

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg, lightly beaten

For the Filling
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces about 2 cups pecans

Directions

Make the Crust
1. Line 9 inch square baking pan with foil. In a food processor, pulse flour, sugar and salt to combine. Add butter, pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg, pulse just until a dough forms. 2. Transfer dough to prepared pan, press firmly into bottom and 3/4 inch up sides. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 3. Prick bottom of dough. Bake until lightly golden, 22 to 25 minutes. Let cool while preparing filling.

Make the Filling
1. In a large saucepan, bring butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup to a boil over high heat, whisking constantly, until smooth; continue boiling, without stirring, until slightly darkened, about 2 minutes. 2. Remove pan from the heat. Whisk in cream and salt; mix in pecans.

Assemble and Bake
1. spoon hot filling evenly over crust, using spoon to arrange and press in nuts so they fit snugly (Create as flat a surface as possible). 2. Bake until bubbling and amber colored, 18-22 minutes. Cool Completely in pan. 3. Using foil lift cake from pan; peel off foil. With a sharp knife cut into 6 even strips; cut each strip crosswise into 4 even strips to make 24 bars.

Crust ready to bake

Ready to cut into bars

Ready to be shipped